In the rental.
The warm morning sun shone through the window, claiming a few floor tiles for its own, and the fine particles of dust were undeniably visible in the light.
Little Landlady Zhang Xinxin looked at Lin Chuan and nodded seriously, "Yes, it's the one Aunt Liu gave me. She seemed to say it was worth tens of thousands of yuan."
"Wait for me a moment."
Lin Chuan immediately turned around to wash up quickly in the bathroom, perked himself up, and then took the century-old red agate bracelet from Little Landlady's hand.
This bracelet consisted of 16 red agate beads.
Each bead was deeply hued and warm like blood, their surfaces had become smooth and round, the touch was delicate with no grainy texture, as if they had been bathed and sedimented by the years.
Lin Chuan took it to the window, placing it in the sunlight.
The red agate beads emitted a charming luster, their patterns like flowing flames dancing within the golden sunlight, occasionally clinking against each other, producing a crisp and pleasant sound akin to a quietly trickling stream.
"Chairman, can you appraise agates?"
Little Landlady leaned in to look but couldn't understand, a puzzled look appearing on her lovely face.
Lin Chuan, seeing the expectation on Little Landlady's small face, smiled, "A little."
"That's great!"
Little Landlady's eyebrows instantly bent into crescents, revealing a delighted smile.
Lin Chuan tapped Little Landlady's forehead with his finger and thought to himself, luckily I worked overtime last night to learn a new technique, otherwise you really would have stumped me.
But this string of century-old red agate...
"Fake."
Lin Chuan took another look before concluding.
"Fake?" Little Landlady furrowed her brows, a look of surprise on her face.
Lin Chuan nodded and gave a light 'hm'.
Actually, Lin Chuan spotted the giveaway immediately, but because the giver was Old Zhang's partner—Aunt Liu—he took several more glances, very careful to ensure he was not mistaken.
Otherwise, with Lin Chuan's status as a 'grandmaster level master' in the virtual world's antiques circle, he only needed to hold it in his hand, touch it lightly, and take one look, and no falsity or deceit could hide from his 'fiery eyes and golden pupils.'
When it came to antique forgery, no one could claim kingship before him.
"Chairman, how did you tell it was a fake?" Little Landlady Zhang Xinxin asked in a daze.
Lin Chuan smiled, placed the 'century-old red agate bracelet' in Little Landlady's hand, and then pointed at the patterns, "Look here."
Little Landlady pursed her lips and said in a soft voice, "I can't tell. Can you teach me, Chairman?"
Lin Chuan, a good head taller than Little Landlady, used his right hand to gently tousle her hair and teased, "Who taught you to speak so coyly?"
"The strategies taught me."
Little Landlady beamed, her eyes filled with a dazzling starry sky.
"You don't actually need any strategies."
Lin Chuan chuckled, then continued to look at the century-old red agate bracelet, "The craftsmanship of this bracelet is very good. It's a replica of Southern Red Agate, altered in color through heat treatment, and this aspect is done quite well; you can clearly see the cinnabar spots accumulating, resembling the cinnabar red in century-old Southern Red Agate."
Southern Red Agate, also known as 'cinnabar jade', has a fine and oily texture and originates from the Yundian region, highly valued as collectible art.
Little Landlady listened intently, her clear eyes fixed on Lin Chuan.
"Why are you looking at me? Look at it," Lin Chuan stopped.
"Okay."
Little Landlady grinned and said, "Keep talking, I'm listening."
Lin Chuan tapped Little Landlady's head and continued, "Whether it's the color or texture, this bracelet is one of the better fakes amongst replicas, but the patterns still give away subtle clues. Look here," he said, pointing.
Little Landlady followed Lin Chuan's finger to examine the beads.
On the agate beads, there were very fine granular patterns.
Lin Chuan remarked, "Cinnabar Southern Red Agate should have patterns almost like flames, very enchanting, but this imitation, the patterns are not fine enough, and its antiquing technique still lacks some level."
Little Landlady earnestly used Lin Chuan's method to carefully scrutinize each bead.
Ultimately, with a pout, she placed the beads on the table.
Each one was a replica.
"Little Landlady, what's this about someone wanting to buy your bracelet?" Lin Chuan sat at the table, eating the beef noodles Little Landlady had packed, while asking.
Little Landlady pouted.
As it turned out, yesterday a customer wanted to have a look around the company and Little Landlady agreed.
During the visit, the customer noticed the century-old red agate bracelet on Little Landlady's wrist and greatly admired it.
At the time, Little Landlady had thought it was just mutual business flattery.
Unexpectedly, this morning, the customer messaged Little Landlady wanting to purchase her century-old red agate bracelet at a high price.
Little Landlady found it strange and couldn't decide on her own, so she immediately ran to get Lin Chuan's opinion.
Unconsciously, she had become somewhat dependent on Lin Chuan.
"How much is he willing to pay for it?" Lin Chuan asked with a smile, his mouth corner raised.
Little Landlady stretched out her slender index finger, "One hundred thousand."
Lin Chuan's eyebrows raised, and he paused in his eating, "In that case, he's quite interested in this bracelet, huh? One hundred thousand yuan, offering a high price for a replica of the century-old red agate bracelet, that's interesting."
Little Landlady clearly didn't understand Lin Chuan's words, her eyebrows knitted together, "Chairman, what does that mean?"
Lin Chuan smiled and said cheerfully, "Have you heard of the Antique Scam?"
Little Landlady shook her head.
Previously engrossed in short videos and after starting a company with Lin Chuan recently, she was busy planning the company's development and researching 'what 24-year-old men like'—how could she know anything about the Antique Scam?
"I think you might have encountered an Antique Scam," Lin Chuan said with a smile, and then explained the Antique Scam to Little Landlady.
The Antique Scam is actually one of the deceptive practices from the Cheating Sect's 'Eight Generals'.
The antiques market is treacherous, with extremely high profit margins, and some people have derived illicit methods, using antiques as bait to lure victims.
The ultimate goal was essentially to sell replicas as authentic pieces at high prices.
At its core, it was about exploiting people's psychology to commit fraud.
Many people got deeply trapped in the Antique Scam and couldn't extricate themselves, eventually leading to financial ruin, and in worse cases, broken families.
"So, Little Landlady, you understand what I'm saying now, right?" Lin Chuan said with a smile.
"I kind of get it now."
Little Landlady took a deep breath. "Which means, Aunt Liu might have set me up."
"It's indeed possible, but her target isn't likely you; it's Old Zhang," Lin Chuan nodded in affirmation.
Lin Chuan speculated that in this Antique Scam, Liu Qing first used her relationship with Old Zhang to give the Little Landlady the Century-Old Red Agate Bracelet.
Then, she arranged for a stooge to 'coincidentally' see the Century-Old Red Agate Bracelet and offer to buy it at a high price.
Her purpose was actually to use the Century-Old Red Agate Bracelet to make the Little Landlady trust her.
Thus influencing Old Zhang.
Because the Little Landlady was the person Old Zhang was closest to.
Liu Qing was very clever.
She had investigated both Lin Chuan and the Little Landlady and knew that they had no experience with antique trinkets and were completely ignorant in that area. Therefore, she boldly designed such a scam under the guise of 'meeting' them.
The goal was to hook Old Zhang.
Originally,
when Lin Chuan first encountered Liu Qing, he was only suspicious and did not dare be completely certain.
But now suddenly someone wanted to buy the Century-Old Red Agate Bracelet she had given to the Little Landlady at a high price, so Lin Chuan was sure that she wasn't sincerely dating Old Zhang but rather planning to swindle him.
This kind of scam was relatively common in the antiques circle.
For someone new to antiques like Old Zhang, it was like a lower-dimensional strike.
"So what should we do? Should we tell Old Zhang directly?"
The Little Landlady furrowed her brows and asked.
After some thought, Lin Chuan shook his head: "Old Zhang might already be caught in it. If we confront him directly, he might not believe us, and it could alert Liu Qing instead. Let's collect evidence first."
As the saying goes, the player is blind but the onlooker sees clear.
After years of being single, he was desperate for a relationship, so he fell for it.
From Old Zhang's perspective:
His girlfriend gave his daughter a precious Century-Old Red Agate Bracelet, and someone wanted to buy it for a high price.
This indicated that the bracelet was genuine.
It further proved that his girlfriend truly cared for his daughter.
As for the word 'deceit', it probably only flickered through his mind without leaving a trace.
"This Liu Qing actually wants to trick Old Zhang!"
The Little Landlady's brows knitted together, and a hint of anger appeared on her pretty face as she said indignantly.
Lin Chuan rubbed the Little Landlady's head to comfort her, "Stay calm."
Little Landlady took a deep breath to calm her agitation and then asked, "Chairman, what should we do with this bracelet now?"
"Of course, we should sell it," Lin Chuan said with a laugh.
"Ah?"
Little Landlady was taken aback. "Isn't it a fake? Will the client really buy it?"
"If it really is part of an Antique Scam, of course, they will buy it," Lin Chuan said with a smile. "Even if we say we don't know if it's real or fake, he will insist it's genuine. Besides, how can we gather evidence and talk to Old Zhang if we don't sell it?"
In the rental, the Little Landlady pursed her lips: "What will we do after selling it?"
Lin Chuan pondered for a moment.
In his mind, he retrieved memories related to the antiques con in the Virtual World.
Then,
Lin Chuan smiled, the corners of his mouth forming a subtle curve, "If everything goes as expected, after we sell it, Liu Qing will soon invite Old Zhang and you to view a collection of antiques."
"Hmph, the wicked woman!"
The Little Landlady, Zhang Xinxin, clenched her fists and pouted, speaking angrily.
"Don't worry, I'll help you get your revenge," Lin Chuan said with a laugh as he rubbed the Little Landlady's head again.
Little Landlady looked up, her clear eyes meeting Lin Chuan's, and with a purse of her lips, she nodded firmly, feeling inexplicably reassured by the sight of Lin Chuan's faintly smiling face.
"How come you know everything?" the Little Landlady asked curiously.
"Well... maybe that's just the mark of a genius," Lin Chuan said with a smile.
Only a genius could explain all this.
Otherwise... it's not like I could say I'm using a cheat, right?
"Chairman, you're so full of yourself!" the Little Landlady teased, but deep down she had no doubt about Lin Chuan's words.
Lin Chuan smiled faintly, then picked up the 'Century-Old Red Agate Bracelet' from the table, his eyes flashing with a cold and sharp light.
He didn't want the Little Landlady to worry.
If it had been yesterday, he would have been a complete novice in the world of antique trinkets.
But after last night's experience in virtual life, he was now at the Grandmaster Level in the antiques circle!
The pinnacle of forgery was creating a replica that was even more convincing than the genuine article, and Lin Chuan was at that level.
As for appraising,
it was merely a matter of handling the item and looking it over.

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